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Timeless Cool Music
Ross on Radio

by Sean Ross / rossonradio@radio-info.com / 973.763.1306

Issue 084 Vol. 1 / Tuesday, April 20th 2010

 

Have UK Radio Pleasures Gotten Less Guilty?

Whigfield sleeve

Thursday’s column about radio’s Gaga-
era willingness to embrace the kind of record that once did a lot better internationally prompted a lot of responses, including one about the concurrent mainstreaming of British radio. With American pop—including Rhythmic pop—getting a little more bubblegummy, the two Top 40 scenes are frequently meeting in the middle.

Jon Heasman

Jon Heasman, manager of commercial radio licensing at Ofcom, the British radio regulator, writes, “Of course, you probably know that here in the U.K., the whole ‘Guilty Pleasures’ thing really took off four or five years ago with a lot of really successful club nights spanning the likes of David Essex to Whigfield’s “Saturday Night,” but unsurprisingly this is not a concept that has worked particularly well on the radio . . . Fortunately, though it does make life blander, the U.K. does seem to suffer from fewer novelty hits these days.”

It’s true; the charts have been less at the mercy of “Mr. Blobby” and his friends in recent years. As noted last week, globalization works both ways and U.K. radio definitely plays some songs that might once have been considered too American. Also, the event record slots that used to go to childrens’ TV show themes, charity remakes, and other oddities now go to the latest “X-Factor” winner, rarely as goofy. And somewhere in the pre-iTunes Music Store era, the British singles chart also lost influence at radio—as in the U.S., radio gave itself permission to ignore certain records even if they had a sales story.
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The Best Record From The U.K. Right Now

Vickers sleeve

Because British radio has become more Americanized, I don’t find myself spending quite the amount of time with it that I did a decade ago—when I probably spent more time listening to Europe than the States. (It was also around the time that U.S. radio backed off streaming for a while.) Listening to much of U.K. radio, one is more likely to spend a lot of time wading through American hits or (given the always conservative nature of British Top 40 radio) U.K. recurrents before hearing anything new.

But I still hear one worth sharing from time to time, including this week’s No. 2 British hit (held out of No. 1 so far by Usher’s “O.M.G”). This, too, comes from a former finalist on “X-Factor.” So far, I’m unaware of any U.S. plans for it; but even if the original never comes out here, it would also be a perfect first single if current “American Idol” contestant Siobhan Magnus ends up with a record deal.
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More Readers On Gaga, Globalization, And Guilt

Boney M sleeve

“Sean, there was really no Boney M in America? I couldn’t imagine that. ‘Oceans of Fantasy’ was the first album I ever bought. Granted, the B-52s’ self-titled debut was the second album I bought, which probably just goes to show that Canadians are insane. Um, I mean eclectic.” – Cori Death, Senior Research Manager/Radio, Vision Critical

“I can’t believe you compared ‘Bad Romance’ to ‘Rasputin’ [by Boney M], I still further can’t believe I get it. But you mentioned the [success of] Nickelback-type ballads in the U.K. Those are the guilty pleasures of today.” – Jay Frank, CMT

“Excellent article on the Globalization of music—great comparisons of Gaga to Boney M. I've been a Pop fan all my life, I loved Abba then and love Lady Gaga now, and speaking of excellent, you nailed it with your appreciation of Adam Lambert as ‘American Idol’ mentor . . . ‘Whatya Want From Me’ has already been a huge hit in a lot of markets, like New York City, and should be a legitimate Top 5 hit for him with more hits on the way. Adam is a real talent and showman who can sing and deliver a great performance, and understands how to make a hit song. Given the chance, he's a lasting talent for our business. America needs to get over the AMA performance and embrace him.” – Guy Zapoleon
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Readers on radio II
Engaging With Pandora
Bob Bellin

“I asked the local Bud distributor whether microbreweries were hurting them when I was GM of a rock station in the mid ‘90s. He said that while the biggest of them had only a 2% share, as a category it was growing and taking more and more share - little bits at a time. He went on to say that because there were so many tiny competitors, it was harder to mount a counter strategy. This seems analogous to Pandora, Sirius, iPods, computer games, etc. and all of the media now fighting radio for time and attention. One can dismiss any of them as small and insignificant, but in the aggregate, they are chipping away at terrestrial radio. What radio should do about it is another story . . . The current royalty structure makes it pretty much impossible to make money streaming music online, which seems to be the unacknowledged 800 pound gorilla in this room . . . I know that the answer won't come from arguing over how many titles are played or whether Pandora has more or fewer listeners than WBEB.” – Bob Bellin

“Radio folks should realize by now ad hominem attacks are pretty useless. In fact, they backfire more often than not. Harker disputes Westergren's supposed comment about Pandora being bigger than WBEB in Philly (a quote to which he provides no direct reference). In his argument against this, Harker projects Pandora's total US subscriber base against the percent of US population that Philly represents [which is] the same kind of [projection] he is accusing Westergren of. Pandora clearly could, and probably does, have a higher concentration of users in a city like Philly than in does throughout the rest of the US . . . It just makes people who believe in the power of the audio medium seem defensive, [even though] most of us aren’t.” – Steve Burgess

“On the iPhone (until OS 4.0 this summer) audio apps (like Pandora) cannot play in the background. If you're listening to Pandora (or any non-MP3 stream), you have to stop listening to use the iPhone for another app. There are a couple workarounds like ooTunes putting a browser inside the player, but until 4.0, comparing traditional radio metrics to the Internet streaming is misleading. Where is the ‘skip this song’ button on conventional radio?” – Fred Stiening, Streaming Radio Guide

Have a great week. Back with more Ross On Radio on Thursday.
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One Night With Now

Kat DeLuna performance

Jason Derulo, Orianthi, Kat DeLuna (pictured), the New Boyz, morning host Nick Cannon and Cannon’s protégé Aaron Fresh were on the bill at Top 40 WXRK (Now 92.3) New York’s first spring concert, “One Night Stand.” (Taio Cruz, also planned for the concert, was stranded in Europe.)

Wicks Clicks With Wolf Morning Show

Chuck Wicks with Eddie King and Corey Foley

RCA Nashville’s Chuck Wicks visited Country KBWF (The Wolf) San Francisco to perform his new “Hold That Thought.” He’s flanked by morning team members Eddie King and Corey Foley.

Sean Ross is Executive Editor of Music and Programming for Radio-Info.com. He is also a consultant to the radio and music industries, and VP of music and programming for Edison Research. He can be reached at 973.763.1306. Stations he has recently worked with in his Edison capacity are asterisked.

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Ross on Radio
April 19-24

CHUM-FM Toronto, Adult Top 40
“Breakfast In Barbados” - New Kids On The Block, Barenaked Ladies

April 22

KINK Portland, Ore., Triple-A
“Earth Day Concert” - Jackie Greene, One Eskimo

KUDD (The Mix) Salt Lake City, Top 40
“Earthfest 2010” - Train, Hey Monday, Karl Wolf

WRIF Detroit, Active Rock
“WRIF Man Card Free Show” - Saving Abel, Taddy Porter

April 23

KMJQ (Majic 102) Houston, Urban AC
“Live Afer 5” - Zapp

KNDD (The End) Seattle, Alternative
“Are You On The List?” - Civil Twilight

WBLS New York, Urban AC
“Keith Sweat Lounge Party” - Keith Sweat

WLUP Chicago, Classic Rock
“Monsters Of Mock” - Blizzard Of Oz, Kings Of The Nighttime World

April 24

KDND (The End) Sacramento, Calif., Top 40
“Orphan Andrew's Awesome Party” - Spose

KKBQ (93Q) Houston, Country
“A Day In The Country” - Miranda Lambert, Joe Nichols

KUPD Phoenix, Active Rock
“UFest 2010” - Three Days Grace, Danzig, Adelita's Way, Powerman 5000, Janus, Helmet, Throwdown, Veer Union, Seasons Aft, Shamans Harvest, 2 Cents, Echo The Fall, Man Made Machine

WXTB (98 Rock) Tampa, Fla., Active Rock
“98 Rockfest” - Alice In Chains, Limp Bizkit, Puddle Of Mudd, Sevendust, Hell Yeah, Paper Tongues, Evan's Blue, Soil, American Bang, Monroe Brown, Soulidium, Smile Empty Soul

April 25

WZGC (Dave FM) Atlanta, Triple-A
“Earth Day Birthday” - Ben Harper, Alberta Cross

April 26

CHDI (Sonic 102.9) Edmonton, Alb., Alternative
“Sonic Session” - Band Of Skulls

WWWQ-HD-2 (99X) Atlanta, Alternative
“Rebirthday Show” - 30 Seconds To Mars, Mutemath, Neon Trees

April 30

CHDI (Sonic 102.9) Edmonton, Alb., Alternative
“Sonic Session” - Save The Whale

WQEN (The Q) Birmingham, Ala., Top 40
“Schaeffer Eye Center Crawfish Boil (Day 1)” - Alice In Chains, Akon, Seether, Theory of a Deadman, Fuel

WWQM (Q106) Madison, Wis., Country
“Free Concert Series” - Steel Magnolia, Pat Watters Band

May 1

KSON San Diego, Country
“Countryfest East” - Bucky Covington, Love & Theft, The Band Perry

KDGE (Edge 94.5) Dallas, Alternative
“Edgefest” - Limp Bizkit, Three Days Grace, 30 Seconds To Mars, Deftones, Flyleaf, Switchfoot, 10-Years, Phoenix, Metric, Cage The Elephant, Violent Soho, Crash Kings, Neon Trees, ISHI

WJRR Orlando, Fla., Active Rock
“Earthday Birthday 17” - Korn, Papa Roach, Chevelle, Five Finger Death Punch, Hell Yeah, Halestorm, Trivium, more TBA

WQEN (The Q) Birmingham, Ala., Top 40
“Schaeffer Eye Center Crawfish Boil, Day 2” - Goo Goo Dolls, Train, B-52's, Jason Derulo, Rocket Summer

May 2

Walt Love's Gospel Traxx National., Gospel
“Lupus & Cancer Research Foundation Benefit (Kansas City)” - Doug & Melvin Williams, the Whispers

May 5

KALC (Alice 106) Denver, Adult Top 40
“Slacker & Steve's Cinco DeMichaels” - Bret Michaels

KMGV (Mega 97.9) Fresno, Calif., R&B Oldies
“Cinco DeMega” - Tierra, Thee Midnighters, Joe Bataan

WFUV New York, Triple-A
“Annual Gala” - Levon Helm

May 6

KHFI (Kiss FM) Austin, Texas, Top 40
“High School Invasion” - Taio Cruz

May 8

KNDD (The End) Seattle, Alternative
“Are You On The List?” - Two Door Cinema Club

May 9

WRKS (Kiss-FM) New York, Urban AC
“Mother's Day Concert” - Teena Marie, Whispers

May 13

KYLD (Wild 94.9) San Francisco, Rhythmic Top 40
“Wild Jam 2010” - Usher, Baby Bash, Iyaz, Ke$ha, B.O.B., Lil Jon, New Boyz

May 14

KHTS (Channel 93.3) San Diego, Top 40
“Summer Kickoff Concert 2010” - Usher, Justin Bieber, Ke$ha, Iyaz, Akon, Jason DeRulo, B.O.B., JLS

KTWV (The Wave) Los Angeles, Smooth Jazz
“Mercedes-Benz WaveFest, 2010” - Chaka Khan, Michael McDonald, Mindi Abair, Poncho Sanchez

May 14-16

WYCD Detroit, Country
“Downtown Hoedown” - Dierks Bentley, Zac Brown Band, Julianne Hough, Uncle Kracker, Darryl Worley, Jaron & the Long Road To Love, Lee Brice, Justin Moore, Randy Houser, Randy Montana, Jarrod Nieman, James Otto, Steve Azar, Colt Ford, Steel Magnolia, Telluride, Stephen Cochran, David Nail, Ashley Allyson, T.J. Kelly, Devin Scillian, McClymonts, Molly Hunt, Hardline Drive, Austin Scott, David Shelby, Annabelle Road, Forbes Bros., Cowboy Allan, Julianne, JoCain, Derringer, Terry Lea

Full station show information available here.

Got an upcoming station concert or artist/listener event? Let us know.

 

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